RICHMOND, Va., –
After guiding his team to the third College World Series in
school history and its first appearance in the championship
series, UCLA skipper John Savage has been named national Coach
of the Year by CollegeBaseballInsider.com.

Savage was selected from a group of five
finalists, which included Jim Schlossnagle of TCU, John
Pawlowski of Auburn, Tim Esmay of Arizona State and Ray Tanner
of South Carolina

UCLA finished 27-29 a year ago and currently
stand 24 wins better at 51-15 and two wins from its first
national title in college baseball. Savage guided the Bruins to
a second-place finish in what turned out to be a standout year
in the Pac-10 in which eight teams made the NCAA Tournament.
UCLA was ranked in the Top 25 in only one preseason poll
(Baseball America, 23) but got off to a fast start by winning
its first 22 games. The Bruins have closed by going 21-5,
including coming back after a loss to beat Cal State Fullerton
in the Super Regionals and picking up their first three wins in
College World Series history.

“This is always a difficult decision, and this
year was no exception,” said Phil Stanton, co-founder of
CollegeBaseballInsider.com. “UCLA has showed signs of breaking
through the past few years but did it in a way that not many
expected. John Savage has led the Bruins to the brink of a
national title one year removed from a losing season. We
congratulate Coach Savage and his tremendous staff for a
fantastic season.”

Schlossnagle brought the Horned Frogs to Omaha
for the first time in program history. TCU won its Regional
before going to Austin to take two of three from second-seeded
Texas in the Super Regionals. The Frogs posted three wins in
their first College World Series appearance. TCU won both the
Mountain West regular season and tournament titles for the
fourth time in the past five seasons. The Frogs finished with a
record of 54-14, setting a school record for wins in a season.

Pawlowski guided the Tigers to a Regional berth
for the first time since 2005. Auburn hosted a Regional for the
fourth time and the first since 2003. The Tigers posted a record
of 43-21 and captured the SEC West for the first time since
1995. Auburn led the nation with 131 home runs, 2.05 homers per
game and a slugging percentage of .591. The Tigers had never led
in any team category prior to 2010.

In his first year as interim head coach, Esmay
led the Sun Devils to the No. 1 overall national seed in the
NCAA Tournament. ASU won its Regional and Super Regional before
falling at the College World Series. The Sun Devils went 52-10
and won the Pac-10 title with a 20-7 conference mark. ASU was an
amazing 36-3 at home. The 2010 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Esmay
had ‘interim’ removed from his title in early June.

Tanner has guided the Gamecocks to another 50-win
season and to a berth in the CWS Championship Series. South
Carolina won its Regional and the Myrtle Beach Super Regional to
reach Omaha. The Gamecocks lost their first CWS game, but won
four straight to reach the title series. South Carolina has been
to 11 straight NCAA tournaments and has averaged 47 victories
over that stretch.

CollegeBaseballInsider.com has covered Division I
college baseball on a national level since 2002. Past
CollegeBaseballInsider.com coaches of the year include Brian
O’Connor of Virginia in 2009, Paul Mainieri of LSU and Mark
Marquess of Stanford in 2008, Tim Corbin of Vanderbilt and Rob
Childress of Texas A&M in 2007, John Cohen of Kentucky in 2006,
Pat Casey of Oregon State in 2005, David Perno of Georgia in
2004 and Elliott Avent of North Carolina State in 2003.